


Locked Out

by TheCookieOfDoom



Category: American Assassin (2017), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26767705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCookieOfDoom/pseuds/TheCookieOfDoom
Summary: Stiles left his keys at work and gets stranded outside his apartment. Luckily his hot neighbor happens to be coming home late, and offers to let him in.
Relationships: Mitch Rapp/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	Locked Out

**Author's Note:**

> Gasp! A successful, sub-2k oneshot! I *am* still capable of writing those! I'm shooketh. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the fic! Please leave a comment if you do <3

Stiles was locked out. His keys were in the jacket he'd left at work in his rush to get away, alongside his phone and his wallet. He had no way to call for help, and nothing to prove who he was even if he could. 

_ I’m so fucked.  _ Feeling hopeless, Stiles sat beside the gate, put his head in his hands, and tried not to cry. It would only make him feel worse. 

***

Sometime later a stranger walked up and looked down at Stiles with a slight frown. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"No. I can't get into my apartment,” Stiles mumbled to his feet, slumped down in misery. He was set to spend a very cold night outside because no one would even let him into the building. Not that he blamed them. Stiles looked up, too exhausted to be hopeful, and somewhat recognized the stranger looking down at him. He squinted. "Do you have a cat named Hazel?"

"Stalker, much?" The stranger asked. But he grinned, so Stiles knew he didn't mean it. "Come on, let's get you inside. You're Stiles, right?" He held his hand out and pulled Stiles to his feet. 

"Now who's the stalker?"

"It's a weird name. No offense."

"None taken." Stiles didn't tell him that his real name was worse. "What's your name?"

"Mitch."

"Thank you, Mitch. Really. I thought I was going to spend the whole night out here..." He would deserve it for how careless he was, but he'd  _ really  _ prefer not to. 

"No problem." Mitch got out his keys, opened the security gate, and held it open for Stiles. It swung shut heavily behind them. 

"I don't suppose you can pick locks?" Stiles asked hopefully, following Mitch into the elevator. He was inside now, but that didn't change the fact he didn't have his keys. And it was probably more likely that someone would call the cops on him for sleeping in the hall than on the steps outside. Such was life in the city. 

Mitch gave him a wry grin. "No, sorry. But there's only like four keys for the entire building; twenty-five percent chance mine will work?"

"Better odds than Vegas. May as well give it a shot."

Unsurprisingly, the key didn't work. Surprisingly, Mitch offered to let Stiles crash on his couch for the night. 

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not? Come on."

"Thank you so much, oh my god."

Stiles found out that Mitch lived at the end of the hall, and did indeed have a black cat named Hazel. She would get out and roam around near the front of the building sometimes, and Stiles always liked to stop and pet her for a minute. Occasionally he would see Mitch come to collect her on his way from—presumably—work. He always seems so exasperated with her.

She curled around Mitch's legs, meowing in greeting, then padded over to Stiles. She pawed at his leg until he bent down to give her pets, and then she purred happily. 

"I guess you know Hazel already," Mitch said. "Usually she's pretty cold to strangers." 

"Yeah, I've seen her sometimes, when she hangs around out front."

Mitch sighed. "She likes to get out and wait for me." He dropped his keys on the counter and Hazel looked up at the jingle. She hopped up onto the counter and butted her head against Mitch's hand, looking up at him with big, innocent green eyes. "You're not fooling anyone," he told her. 

"Oh come on, how could you say no to that face?" Stiles teased. 

"She only looks sweet; she's actually a demon." Mitch picked Hazel up and set her back on the floor, where she proceeded to slink off towards the living room. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Oh, uh, sure. Water, please." Stiles took a seat at the counter while Mitch got him a glass. "How long have you lived here?"

"A few months. You?"

"Same. I was staying in the dorms at NYU, but having a roommate  _ sucked _ . I'm not very good at sharing that small of a space with someone; I'm too annoying, apparently. I always kept him up late because I like to do research at night, and he said I talked too much."

"Really? I wonder where he got that idea," Mitch said with a mean grin. Stiles blushed. 

"Sorry...."

"It's fine, I'm just teasing." 

"So... what brings you to New York? You don't look like a college student—no offense!" He really wasn’t trying to call Mitch old—he just didn’t look like the other stressed out early twenty-somethings that populated the NYU campus. 

"Hey, I could be in grad school," Mitch defended, crossing his arms over his chest. His very broad chest, and very muscular arms, that definitely didn't look like they belonged to the kind of grad students Stiles knew; they were all frazzled, coffee-addled lunatics, with barely enough time to remember to eat, let alone work out as much as Mitch clearly did. 

Was Mitch talking to him?

"I am  _ so  _ sorry, can you repeat that?" Mitch smirked, and Stiles put his head in his hands. God help him. "Or just kill me now, whatever's better for you."  _ Seriously, ogling the man in his own home? When he's going out of his way to help me out? Really, Stiles? _

"I just said I'm here for work," Mitch repeated. "And I  _ was  _ in a grad program, for the record, but I'm taking a year off."

"Oh, how come?" 

"Some stuff came up."

"Mysterious."

"I have to keep you interested somehow, right?"

Stiles cracked open one eye, looking through his fingers to gauge Mitch's reaction. He reluctantly said, "I'm interested." 

***

Mitch ordered takeout—Stiles promised to pay him back tomorrow night, just as soon as he got his wallet back from work—and they migrated over to the couch once they got their dinner. Hazel came over to beg for teriyaki chicken. 

"How did you get yourself locked out?" Mitch asked.

" _ Ugh _ , it is so stupid. I work at this cafe and obviously, I have to be polite to everyone all the time, right?"

"Sure."

"Well, usually I'm pretty good at it. Except my ex came in, and he's an asshole, and he wouldn't stop harassing me for my whole shift. I couldn't actually do anything about it, and he knew I wouldn't, so I just dropped everything and bailed as soon as my shift ended. But my stuff was still in my locker; wallet, keys, phone, the whole shebang. I was  _ so close  _ to doing something that would get me fired, that I didn’t even think about grabbing my stuff. I just needed to get away before I threw scalding coffee in his face, or something.” 

"Yikes."

"Yeah. I promise I’m not actually that violent, by the way, he was just  _ really  _ awful... And seriously, thank you so much for letting me in. I had no idea what I was going to do." The cafe was closed by the time Stiles got to his complex, and he couldn’t go back to work because there was no way for him to call his manager to let him back in. And even if he could, he would have to hope she didn't just laugh in his face and leave him hanging. 

"Don't worry about it. It sucks you got stranded."

It was pretty late—Stiles was dying to ask what Mitch's job was to have him getting back at 10:00pm, but he was so vague about everything that he left it alone—so after dinner Mitch got Stiles a blanket and pillow and more or less left him alone for the night. Hazel stayed to keep him company, curled up on his stomach and purring up a storm as he scratched behind her ears. 

***

The next morning Stiles woke to the smell of coffee. Mitch was already awake, feeding Hazel while the coffee brewed. 

"Hey," he said when he noticed Stiles was awake. 

"Morning," Stiles said around a yawn. "Sorry."

"You want some coffee?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."

"Anytime." 

Stiles stretched and got up to join Mitch in the kitchen, accepting the cup that Mitch handed to him. They didn't talk, but Stiles surprisingly didn't mind the silence, nursing his coffee as he woke up. 

"What time is it?" he asked, because it still felt early. 

"Seven."

"Gross. You're one of those people that gets up really early to like. Run or something. Aren't you?"

"I've been up since six-fifteen," Mitch admitted. "... And I may have been running."

" _ Ugh _ . I hate you." Mitch grinned at him. 

Soon after that it was time for Stiles to leave. He didn't want to overstay his welcome. 

"Thank you, again. You're a lifesaver." 

"I had purely selfish motivations," Mitch said with a shrug. Stiles' interest was piqued. 

"Oh?"

"I think you're cute. I was going to ask you out later." Mitch must have realized how that sounded, because his eyes widened and he rushed to say, "Not that you're obligated! I probably would have helped you anyway."

Stiles grinned. "Probably?"

"You know what I mean," Mitch groaned. He looked up at the ceiling, probably asking for guidance on how not to sound like a jackass. "You know what—never mind. Forget it. It was nice to meet you, have a good day." 

"Why did you ask me out last night?" Stiles asked, because he liked that Mitch was getting a little bit flustered. And also he absolutely wanted Mitch to ask him out, if that was still a possibility. 

"You were talking about your shitty ex, it didn't seem like a good time."

"Probably not," Stiles agreed. "I think now is a great time, though. So... Do you want to maybe get dinner tonight? You know, so I can pay you back for last night. Then I don't owe you anything, and you can ask me out guilt free." Mitch snorted. 

"That sounds pretty reasonable." 

"Great. It's  _ not  _ a date, then." 

"Alright, I'll see you later." 

Stiles skipped out of the apartment with a wide smile, and he didn't even care that he had to walk four blocks to work, because he was going on a not-date with his hot neighbor. 

Who knew getting locked out could end so well?

**Author's Note:**

> Is Mitch an assassin? Something else? Who knows! Dealer's choice ; )
> 
> Hazel *was* my cat, but somebody stole her a week and a half ago : ( But she gets to live on in my fic! I'm really into the idea of Mitch having cats this week, apparently. 
> 
> Stay tuned tomorrow for an angsty vampire fic! I didn't get it posted today like I meant to to kick off ~spooky season~ but I did get a ton written, so I can forgive myself. 
> 
> I've also got a really big project planned for Halloween, so keep an eye on that too! I've been talking about it on tumblr (@the-cookie-of-doom) if anyone wants to come by and check it out : 3


End file.
